Beginner Cook

[Anonymous]

I agree that a great place to start is looking at things your kids love to "eat out," then make a healthier version at home.

If they love chicken nuggets, for example, buy chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces, coat in beaten eggs, then dip into your favorite coating (I like a combination of flour, corn meal, and wheat germ) and bake.

If they love pizza, make homemade pizza with whole wheat crust, or use this recipe:
http://stickafork.net/2012/04/16/cauliflower-crust-pizza/
to get some more veggies in them.

If they like burgers, try putting some zucchini into a food processor and mixing it with the ground beef, eggs, and spices, to make a tender and healthier version.

If they like mac n cheese, make your own sauce by heating milk over med-low heat and slowly adding shredded cheese until it melts into the milk (stirring slowly but constantly with a whisk). Then pour the sauce over some whole wheat elbow mac, top with shredded cheese and bread crumbs and bake for 20-minutes or so until the top is golden and bubbly. For bonus points, you can run some steamed cauliflower through a food processor, and mix it into the sauce.

If you just start out with making the standards, better, you'll increase your confidence and feel like you're putting something a little better out there.

[Anonymous]

I never cooked until I had preschool aged children and wanted to branch out their diets from chicken nuggets and plain pasta with butter. Now I make dinner about 4 nights a week and while the meals are basic, they are healthy and fresh and we enjoy eating together. My "teacher" was How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman and my "go-to" for simple easy recipes is The Six O'Clock Scramble by Aviva Goldfarb - I love her cookbook bc it is organized seasonally and contains simple recipes without a million ingredients - also she always recommends a simple, simple side or two and I still prefer to follow directions in the kitchen - I will never be creative

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I have half an hour, breakfast will be something besides scrambled eggs......

Melt butter in pan, add beaten eggs, move after they cook a bit so they don't turn into mush. Three minute process. If I wanted savory custard, I'd bake it.

Try it, you may change your mind!

The Ramsay approach does not require a half hour and it's nothing like a custard. Takes about five minutes on the heat.

[Anonymous]

I would start with Alton Brown (on Youtube). I <3 Alton and he bases his shows on a technique or idea rather than a super-specific recipe. So you can take the techniques you learn and apply them elsewhere.
Just dive in! Can you make pasta (ie boil water and open prego?)? Okay, make pasta and homemade sauce. Baby steps.
Can you roast a chicken? I cannot believe the number of people my age who have gone through life without ever having just "shoved a chicken in the oven." I do it once every couple weeks or so and cannot imagine needing to 1, buy a rotisserie chicken, or 2, needing a recipe for it. START with a recipe, sure, but be able to adapt it to whatever you need.

[Anonymous]

My name is 00:31 and I have never roasted a whole chicken
Seriously, as a late in life cook with all of my cooking knowledge having come from books, I find roasting a chicken intimidating. Do I have to wash the chicken first? Remove anything from the inside? Tie it up, and if so, how? I have ne'er used a meat thermometer and would have no idea where to insert it to check if it is cooked. And last, I would not know how to carve it up once cooked. Any ideas on where to read/watch "roasting a chicken for dummies?"